Psalm 146:6-7 (for tough times...)

Let's welcome God every morning before work by giving a few minutes to read this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which is based on Living Faith. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

The Lord keeps faith forever, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. Psalm 146:6-7 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "When we feel lonely and weak, we can count on God's fidelity to uphold us. When we feel lost, we can trust in God's promise to guide us. When we are oppressed by our inability to love and forgive, we can believe in God's power to free us. God's love touches us at every moment. We have only to recognize it in our daily lives as we are strengthened by its power. Lord, may my hope in you bring me peace, and may it give me the strength to become what you made me to be."

Faith Challenge: Let's challenge each other to joyfully live out the Good News.

* NEW: Let's reflect on God's healing power...and allow it to strengthen us and help others on our journey today.

LIFE Group nuggets:

* Jean Noon commented on yesterday's devotion. "I visited Beijing on the one-year anniversary of Tiananmen. The tank man was willing to lay down his life; self-preservation goes out the window when it comes to matters of the soul! Such a wake-up call to all who witnessed it! We recently watched the film “Gandhi” which is a great study in how sacrifice is key to any response to injustice (as were MLKing, Jr’s and Desmond Tutu’s stories). It was Gandhi’s purpose “to wake up” the Indians and the British government to the unjust practices of the British. He led the Indians to peacefully receive the brutality which was being administered by the British under the guise of upholding the law. Responding peacefully in the face of brutality was the key to their moral authority and credibility. It’s painful for those who have to undertake that cross -- to disregard the ego’s need for self-preservation -- but it follows Jesus’ truth. In effect they are saying, “I am willing to pay the price to renew this situation even though I am not the cause of this situation.” I believe this is what it means to fulfill the great commission: to embody sacrifice (til it hurts) as the first step in any of our undertakings as the salt in our environments. According to Jesus, one’s spiritual life is infinitely more important than one’s physical life. It’s awful that the murderer of George Tiller had such a collapse of imagination that he couldn’t think of a more creative way to wake people up! Gandhi did not seek vengeance (just consequences), punishment, or retribution for those who trespassed against him."

* Sr. Francelle's devotion: So many people in the world are searching for something

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, American Family Association, Priests for Life* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images)...#1 cause of death in America. Let's courageously share ProLife Truth (John 14:6) to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn free!

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas in footnote below.

* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, addictions, Sue Peters (Wendi Kotlinsky cancer treatment), Carol Nesbitt (cousin Rob Mischel with brain cancer), Carla Neal (Cyndy, Anita & Collin)

* NEW: Jason Peters (his son JP in hospital)

Feast day: St. Boniface

Faith Quote: "Through prayer you will learn to become light of the world, because in prayer you become one with the source of our true light, Jesus himself." John Paul II

Through Christ our Lord,
Pat
Phil 4:13

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead.'

* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).

* Defend the unborn: 'Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die' (Prov 24:11). 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1:5). 'It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish' (Blessed Mother Teresa).

* Evangelization: Let's make room for unbelievers (be a friend, make a friend, lead friend to Christ) and perpetual re-evangelization of self and those near us, by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ's example of selfless love, mercy, and service.
Let's joyfully invite others to join our LIFE Group...Rich or Pat will gladly add them to the devotions distribution list (Mark 16:15)!